The Pyrenees between European policies and local initiatives for cross-border cooperation: The case of cerdanya

© 2018, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona and Universitat de Girona. All rights reserved. The article analyzes the role of local cross-border cooperation in peripheral border areas. Specifically, we inquire as to whether the synergies between European Territorial Coop- eration (ETC) policy on the one hand, and local cross-border initiatives on the other, represent a valid territorial strategy for endogenous development in these areas. Border-lands frequently coincide with geographically remote locations (i.e., mountain or rural or coastal areas) that are often far from major economic and urban centers of growth. In this regard, the Pyrenees constitute a privileged area of study. Since the end of the 1980s, many cross-border projects have been implemented in this transboundary space and different regional and local cooperation agencies have been set up. A case study of the Cerdanya provides empirical data to support our hypothesis that local cross-border cooperation is leading to the integration of peripheral borderlands. The study demonstrates how histori- cal neighbourhood relationships, a strong local identity and sharing common needs are key factors in the development of successful, stable, multi-thematic and local cross-border cooperation in the long term.